Silverball: Crowdfunding involves the consumer

Crowdfunding has lets developers involve their consumers in the development process for the better, says Silverball Studios, which today set to re-launch its classic Pro Pinball series via Kickstarter.

The Pro Pinball franchise first emerged in 1995, but has not been seen in over ten years. The team at Silverball aims to raise more than $400,000 via Kickstarter, which will be used to create a brand new entry in the series for PC, Mac and iOS.

"We are using [crowdfunding] in a number of useful ways," Adrian Barritt, CEO of Silverball Studios told Develop. "Our backers will get involved in choosing the theme for the new game we are creating. They will also be able to suggest features and in some cases even Beta test the game. On top of that we are running a poll to determine the order in which we should support other platforms. It is also a good way of communicating how the process is coming along, which we are very keen to do.

However, Barritt makes clear that his studio's prime reason to choose Kickstarter was funding.

"It was the most likely way of us raising sufficient funds to both remaster the classic Pro Pinball games and create a brand new game because of the huge fan base we have for the series we knew that those people, along with gaming fans would be excited at the prospect of this campaign, and therefore, hopefully, help us fund it," Barritt explained.

The Kickstarter-funded Pro Pinball game will feature a new table specifically created for the release, designed by pinball legend Pat Lawlor, as well as remastered versions of the original four Pro Pinball tables for veteran fans.